SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Wesleyan wrestling team saw three Cardinals –
CJ Shea '25,
Hayden Myers '27, and
Aris Dashiell '25 – capture weight class titles on Saturday, leading the squad to a fourth place showing out of 15 teams at the Doug Parker Invitational hosted by Springfield College. The fourth-place finish is Wesleyan's best at the event since taking the overall team title back in 2017 while the three first place finishers is the most of all 15 teams competing on the day.
Shea continues to dominate the competition at 165, as the senior remains undefeated on the season with four more wins coming on Saturday on his way to the title. Shea opened as the top seed and started the day with a 6-1 win over Mark Venson of Centenary before landing an 8-0 major decision win over Augustus Edwards of Coast Guard. Wrestling in the semifinal round against Landon Kearns of Coast Guard, Shea came out on top in a 5-1 decision. Competing for the title against Williams' Fisher Stites, Shea won another close bout, this time in a 5-2 decision, to take first place at 165, his second tournament win this fall.
Myers came out on top as the #1 seed at 141, wrestling to a dominating 18-1 tech fall win over Hunter Lundberg of RIC in the round of 16. He followed with a pin of Williams' Tylor Stubbs before landing another dominating win, this time a 13-4 major decision triumph over Joseph Innamorato of Centenary. Setting up a title clash against Kyle Moore of Southern Maine, it was Myers who controlled the match and came out on top for an 8-3 decision win and first place title at 141.
Dashiell successfully defended his #1 seed at 197, capturing first place with four wins on Saturday, starting with a pin of Trevion Atallah from New England College. Dashiell followed with an 8-2 decision win over Brendan Raley of Coast Guard and made it to the final courtesy of a 12-6 decision win in the semifinal round against Charles Maloy of Western New England. Wrestling for the crown at 197, it was Dashiell who triumphed with a 4-2 decision victory over Kevin Pandorf of Coast Guard.
More success on the day came at 174 with
Andrew Maiorini '25 going on a run to the first place bout with decision wins coming over Alex Hurly of Trinity 3-1, Joseph Bolduc of New England College 8-4, and Sean Tansey of Williams 7-3. In the finals, it was top-seeded Jacob Deguire of Springfield coming out on top with a tech fall victory, giving Maiorini second place in the weight class.
Chris Hong '27 made it five Cardinals landing Top 5 finishes as the sophomore went on to capture third place at 125. Opening with a 5-3 decision win over Beniamino DiCocco of Western New England, Hong advance to the semis with a 4-1 triumph over Alex Schaeublin of Trinity. Hong fell to top-seed Fred Luchs of RIC 5-1 in the semifinal round but landed in third place following a forfeit win in the third-place bout.
The sixth and final placer on the day for Wesleyan saw
Max Martinez '25 capture fifth at 133. Martinez opened with a round of 16 defeat and had to battle his way in the consolation flight, starting with a pin of Ariel Escalante of Springfield before taking down Jake Bennett of Coast Guard in a 4-1 decision win. Martinez's run continued with a pin of John Schneider of Williams before coming out on top in a 4-2 decision victory over Western New England's Austin Mitroski in the fifth-place bout.
Ronnie Christolin '28 posted three wins on the day, coming just one victory shy of an appearance in the fifth-place bout at 157. Christolin opened with a 4-2 decision win over Tristan Julian of Western New England before taking down five-seed Nick Antonucci of Plymouth State, 7-1. After suffering a close 4-1 defeat in the main draw quarterfinal round, Christolin landed a 7-2 decision win over Drew Pratt before bowing out in a 4-2 decsion defeat to Colin Carlin of Western New England.
The Cardinals are back in action one more time before winter break as Wesleyan takes next week off before heading to the RIT Tournament on Saturday, December 7.
